FIDH Interactive Map: Violence Against Women: A Global Epidemic

March 8, 2015 - Violence against women is a scourge affecting all countries and all social environments. On 8 March, FIDH launches an interactive map with links to testimonies of women from around the world who died as a consequence of violence inflicted by men and a selection of FIDH’s actions aimed at promoting reforms to combat this epidemic.

The testimonies are drawn from the theatrical project “Wounded to death”, by Serena Dandini and Maura Misiti, which will be staged for the first time in Tunis, on 8 March 2015, in collaboration with FIDH and its member organisations in Tunisia, ATFD and LTDH.

Violence against women continues to rage across the world. Domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking in women, “honour” crimes, sexual slavery, forced marriage, female genital mutilation… All too often the perpetrators remain unpunished and the victims are unable to assert their rights. “As we mark the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, states’ record on violence against women is lamentable. Governments must fulfil their obligations to end this epidemic, in the public as well as the private spheres, by adopting the necessary legislative and political measures,” declared Karim Lahidji, FIDH President.

In Mali, 89% of all women and girls are subjected to female genital mutilation. In Somalia the figure is 98%, in Guinea 96%, in Djibouti 93%, and in Egypt 91%. An estimated 130 million women and girls in the world have been genitally mutiliated. In 2012, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a efforts to eliminate this atrocity to be strengthened, but the practice prevails in approximately 30 counties where the political will required to act on this commitment is lacking.

Such is the fate of thousands of girls all over the world, made pregnant following rape, often in the context of a forced marriage. In many countries abortions in cases of rape are illegal. In Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chile and the Dominican Republic it is illegal to terminate a pregnancy under any circumstances. In Ireland, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Bangladesh, extremely restrictive legislation only permits abortion when the woman’s life is in danger. Furthermore, all these laws include procedural constraints making it impossible for women to invoke the exceptions in practice. They are therefore forced to seek illegal and unsafe abortions, risking their lives.

In many countries, the rise of fundamentalist groups is accompanied by unprecedented violence, aimed at depriving women and girls of their fundamental rights to life, security, education… Targeted by the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, by al-Shabaab in Somalia, by ISIS in Iraq and Syria and by Boko Haram in Nigeria, they are tortured, raped, married by force, sold, reduced to slavery, killed and sacrificed in “suicide attacks”.

“In order to combat the scourge of violence against women, FIDH and its member organisations will continue relentlessly to document cases of violence and exert pressure on the authorities the world over to adopt legislation and policies to end discrimination and impunity and to guarantee women’s access to justice, protection and reparation. Only States have the power and the responsibility to put an end to the epidemic,” asserted Khadija Cherif, FIDH Deputy Secretary General for women’s rights.

The International Federation for Human Rights, known by its French acronym FIDH, is an international human rights NGO representing 178 organizations from close to 120 countries. Since 1922, FIDH has been defending all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as set out in the Universal Declaration for Human Rights.

Restraining the veto

Subscribe to our mailing list

“We have nothing to lose except everything. So let's go ahead. This is the wager of our generation. If we are to fail, it is better, in any case, to have stood on the side of those who choose life than on the side of those who are destroying it.”

Albert Camus, Author

"Unless some effective supranational government can be set up and brought quickly into action, the prospects of peace and human progress are dark and doubtful."

Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister

"There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized common peace."

President Woodrow Wilson

"World federation is an idea that will not die. More and more people are coming to realize that peace must be more than an interlude if we are to survive; that peace is a product of law and order; that law is essential if the force of arms is not to rule the world."

William O. Douglas, Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice

“Science has made unrestricted national sovereignty incompatible with human survival. The only possibilities are now world government or death.”

Bertrand Russell, Philosopher

"Few organisations have sustained for so long the ambition of a better world, united in peace and committed to the ideals of the United Nations. In particular, WFM's support for the International Criminal Court has been critical in building a constituency of civil society and government actors engaged in the pursuit of justice. 10 years into that effort, WFM has much to celebrate."

Hon. Louise Arbour C.C., G.O.Q., President and CEO of International Crisis Group

“A federation of all humanity, together with a sufficient means of social justice to ensure health, education, and a rough equality of opportunity, would mean such a release and increase of human energy as to open a new phase in human history.”

H.G. Wells, Author

“For nearly five decades the World Federalists have worked to promote a strengthened UN and more effective institutions of global governance. I offer my personal endorsement. Now a great opportunity has opened for the realization of the dreams of the UN's founders.”

Walter Cronkite, Broadcast journalist

“There is no salvation for civilization, or even the human race, other than the creation of a world government.”

Albert Einstein, Scientist

"Your Movement has helped keep alive for fifty years the values which inspired the creation of the United Nations: the vision of a world prepared to act together against armed aggression, social ills and global threats, and united in its promotion of economic and social progress for all."

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan

“The work of the CICC, with like-minded states from around the world is a testament to what can be ac¬complished when civil society and governments work in partnership to bring about dramatic change.”

Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate

"I send my very best wishes to all of you as you continue your important work in support of peace, justice and equality for all. Your credibility is well established and your voice is more important than ever in a world of increasing inequalities, continued injustices, and emerging conflicts. I believe as you do in the mobilization of civil society actors who exercise their fundamental right to participate in their own governance.”

The Honorable Louise Arbour

“I have great regard for the World Federalist Movement's efforts to advance international justice, human rights, peace and security, the freedom of expression, and sustainable development around the world. “